MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : National Exposure Looms for Peyer Murder Case

The tale of a California Highway Patrolman murdering a college student, already part of San Diego folklore, soon will get an avalanche of national exposure.

The murder of Cara Knott and the subsequent trials of CHP officer Craig Peyer are the subject of at least two books in various stages of development and possibly even a made-for-TV movie. The case was the subject of a two-part episode of the syndicated television series “On Trial” last year.

Author Steve Salerno expects to publish his account of the case sometime next year. A first draft has been completed. With a contract from Crown Books in hand, Salerno followed the two Peyer trials from beginning to end, attending almost every session. He is the author of “Deadly Blessing,” a factual account of a Texas man who was murdered by his wife.

Salerno said the Peyer case was a “natural” for him.

“I live a quarter of a mile from the exit of the freeway (where Knott was murdered),” he said. “I was coming home the exact moment her boyfriend was in the area looking for her.”

Attending the trials, where he was able to interact with the principals in the case, as well as the media, gives him an advantage over other book efforts, Salerno said.

Two San Diego Union reporters who sporadically covered different aspects of the case, Joe Cantlupe and Lisa Petrillo, also are developing a book on the Peyer case. They currently are negotiating with “a major publisher.”

“We are trying to do more of the human side of the picture,” Petrillo said, noting they had “arrangements” with some of the principals in the case.

Petrillo, Cantlupe and Salerno said they have not paid anybody involved in the case for their stories.

Robert Grimes, Peyer’s attorney, and Paul Pfingst, the prosecutor in the second trial (now in private practice), both said they had been approached on a number of occasions about the possibility of arranging interviews with either the Peyer or Knott families in exchange for a fee. Both said they referred all inquiries to the respective families and offered cooperation only on matters of public record.

While sportswriters for the daily newspapers have been jousting with San Diego Chargers’ head coach Dan Henning, the local TV sports departments, in typical fashion, have largely ignored the controversy, except for an occasional editorial comment by KFMB-TV’s (Channel 8) Ted Leitner or a reference by the other sportscasters to Henning’s “battle with the newspapers.”

In fact, the local sportswriters--hardly known for their overly aggressive coverage--simply have been exposing the gibberish flowing from Henning, asking him legitimate questions about his actions.

Channel 10’s Larry Sacknoff said Henning’s unprecedented decision to close practices has hampered his coverage, since he is unable to get visuals.

“I can’t get in to show that (quarterback Jim) McMahon is only throwing on the sidelines,” he said. “I can say that, but what good does that do me?”

Lack of manpower is the other excuse most often used by the “sports guys” for their less-than-ambitious coverage.

“I can’t put a guy on overtime just to follow Henning and McMahon around,” Sacknoff said.

KCBQ-AM (1170) today switches to the syndicated “Kool” format, featuring the hits of 1955-63. . .

Larry Himmel returns to Channel 8 tonight. He will do commentaries on Mondays and Fridays for the 6:30 p.m. newscast. . . .

Midway through the first half of UCLA’s recent opening game against Tennessee, Cox Cable lost the Prime Ticket transmission for more than two hours. Callers were told that it was Prime Ticket’s fault, a problem with Prime Ticket’s transmission. But the other San Diego cable systems aired the entire game without incident. It turns out Cox isn’t sure what happened. For some reason, it temporarily was unable to descramble the Prime Ticket signal . . . .

Paul Newman, producer Frank Marshall and Lucas Films were among the big Hollywood names who cooperated with San Diego State film professor Roy Madsen for his book “Working Cinema,” due to hit stores in October. . . .

KFMB-AM’s (760) news coverage is going down the toilet--literally. Last week two reporters were assigned to do a feature on public restrooms in San Diego, rating them on such factors as toilet paper, seat covers and cleanliness of urinals. The bathroom in Balboa Park near the Aerospace Museum received a “totally gross” rating. . . .

Cheesy video was never quite as cheesy as KNSD-TV’s (Channel 39) coverage of anchorwoman Denise Yamada’s wedding. Not willing to settle for a quick mention, Channel 39 showed Yamada taking her vows and dropped nuggets of information to viewers like, “They met at (reporter) Rory Devine’s wedding.” . . .

The scene: Channel 39’s John Britton reporting live from the 32nd Street Naval Station last Tuesday. An anchor asks him about the fire consuming one of the Navy’s buildings. He reports that the Navy won’t confirm that the fire is still burning. Behind him flames and smoke are clearly visible. . . .

KFSD-FM (94.1) general manager Nancy Reynolds is leaving to take a similar post with KOY in Phoenix, an Edens Broadcasting station. Current sales manager Russ Haberle will replace Reynolds. . . . San Diego radio veteran Gary Beck is new program director at XHITZ (Z90). . . . In last week’s media column, San Diego State University professor Dr. Charles Hohm was incorrect in chiding Channel 8 for misidentifying the department affiliation of an SDSU professor. Channel 8 got that one right. . . . Former San Diego Metropolitan editor David Weddle has taken a big step in his free-lance career. He has an article in the current issue of “Rolling Stone.” . . .

“Gangs, Guns, Graffiti,” a 30-minute documentary produced by Ace Video Productions, which aired on Cox Cable’s community channel in August, has been picked up by KPBS-TV. It will air in October. The Instructional Television Channel also will air it several times, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Sept. 26. . . . OK. Nobody really cares. But what does “M.G.” stand for, and why doesn’t Channel 8 reporter M.G. Perez have a real name? It stands for “Mighty Good,” joked Perez. “Or how about Machine Gun.” Obviously a man with something to hide, he refused to elaborate, beyond saying he’s used only initials since his school days. . . . Jerry M. Gross Productions has worked a deal to air 28 United States International University basketball games on KVSD, the first radio pact for the school, according to Gross.